Easter Weekend Testimonies
Man! This past Easter weekend at Celebration Church was incredible! I was so proud of our staff, serving teams and church members for going over and above to make this Easter flow so smoothly and reach tons of people.
I know our staff put in lots of extra hours, our volunteers served sacrificially, and our members invited friends and family.
All-in-all we saw nearly 11,000 in attendance and over 1200 decisions for Christ! I’ve already heard so many testimonies of changed lives from those who invited friends and family.
If you have a testimony about Easter weekend, I’d love to hear from you in the comments.
Finding Your Rhythm (Part 2 of 6)
Hebrews 4:11a
Let us, therefore, labor to enter into that rest […]
We have experimented with a lot of ministry ideas and concepts at Celebration Church . . .
- service times
- number and length of services
- discipleship processes
- groups
- growth track
- multi-sites
- missions
- building campaigns
- and just about everything else!
We don’t experiment with things just to satisfy a whim. Believe me when I say it is a lot harder to change a process that isn’t effective than it is to ignore it and hope it will improve over time.
Part of the culture of Celebration Church is actually that we embrace change. We have learned to really find the fun in it and roll with it when it comes. Part of what keeps church fun is the fact that we are willing to try just about anything if it will glorify God and expand His kingdom. By being willing to stay fluid and change, God has taught us a lot about who we are as a church — our unique DNA, strength, and rhythm.
Of course when we implement change it is a risk. It’s also hard work, but I believe a growing church has to be willing to take the risk and “labor hard” to enter into their particular rest or rhythm.
Finding Your Rhythm (Part 1 of 6)
Matthew 11:28-30 [The Message]
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me — watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
Over the last year I have discovered that rhythm and rest go hand in hand. Have you ever seen someone try to dance that has no rhythm? (Not me, of course!) Instead of the smooth fluid movements that make up a dance, they look more like they are doing, “a full-body dry heave set to music” (to use Kramer’s description from Seinfeld.) It looks forced, uncomfortable and maybe even a little foolish.
I believe that ministry – and life – function in much the same way. Like the verse above says, there is a rhythm of grace that we can find. It’s the unique way that God has wired you to walk out His vision and calling. It’s a place of rest where we are able to rely on God’s power and strength. It flows when we are in step with His rhythm for our lives. Over the next few weeks I will be posting about how I discovered the rhythms of grace in my own life and for the church.
I am writing this series of posts primarily to pastors and church leaders, but I believe the principles can be applied to people in any occupation or walk of life.
If you are a church leader or pastor, my prayer is that this series of posts will help you find your particular niche or “rhythm.”
When you are in your rhythm, you position yourself and your ministry to have a much greater degree of spiritual momentum and strength. When you are out of rhythm there is frustration, fatigue - even burnout can eventually occur.
So the next post will be the first of several topics where myself and the team have labored very hard to find our rhythm and rest in God’s strength.
Striving for Greatness
Matthew 20:25-28 (NIV)
Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave–just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus is saying, “Want to strive for greatness? Serve!”
What a thought! Maybe we could replace the image of Christianity that seeks our own comfort, convenience, good feelings, and personal blessing with the image of being a blessing to others and serving with kindness and love.
Actually, there is nothing wrong in striving for greatness, if there were, Jesus would have responded differently to their arguing. However, in the kingdom of God, there is only one path to greatness.
We strive for greatness by:
- Serving our spiritual family
- Serving our children
- Serving our community
- Serving in various ministries throughout the church
- Serving God through serving others
In John 13:1-17, Jesus wrapped a towel around His waist. The King of kings and Lord of lords poured water into a dusty basin . . . The Son of God/Savior of the world washed nasty, dirty, gnarly-nailed, twisted-toed fishermen feet! Jesus demonstrated to His disciples what truly set Him apart as a great leader . . . He served.
He served:
- The hungry with multiplied fish and loaves
- The hurting with a healing touch
- The grieving with a compassionate tear
- The outcast with words of encouragement, hope, acceptance & forgiveness
- With power and with grace
- With truth and with mercy
He shows the full extent of His love when He serves . . . and so do we!
We may not put on a servant’s towel and pour water into a basin . . . but we can comfort infants in the nursery as we pray over them and their future; we can seat & serve people, assist in the parking lot, and put on our friendliest smile to greet people who have had a really hard week.
We serve through removing obstacles and distractions to the presence of God so people can come into a service and experience Him! The one – the greatest servant all, Jesus Christ!
Whatever we do, as along as we do it unto the least of these, we do it unto Him; and in the process, we place ourselves on heaven’s path to greatness.